There are many reasons for pain behind the knee. Your hamstring and gastroc both cross over the knee, so one of these muscles could be irritated. You could have a Baker’s cyst (benign), or have a lymphatic backup. One other possibility is an irritation of the popliteus.
Read MoreBreathwork has been a popular topic lately, and for good reason. It has a big return on investment. There are surprisingly many ways to breathe, and for something we do so often, a subtle change can have a huge impact. This article will focus solely on how breathing and stress are related.
Read MoreWe all know that stress is bad for you, but the consequences of chronic stress are perhaps more far-reaching than you may imagine. Some amount of stress can be good, such as hormetic stress. However, high levels or chronic stress can negatively impact your blood glucose levels, setting you up for diabetes.
Read MoreI’ve been playing hockey my whole life, and as a result I’ve had to deal with groin strains. It’s a common hockey injury. In short, a strain occurs when the activity outmatches the capacity of the muscle.
Unfortunately, many of us have to sit in front of a computer for work. It’s not natural to sit in a slumped position for 8 plus hours and unless you’re very purposeful in taking brakes and standing up, it’s likely you’ve dealt with some upper back pain.
Read MoreIf you google what causes GERD or heartburn, you will most likely find foods that cause too much acid such as tomatoes, chocolate, coffee and alcohol. However, low stomach acid may be to blame.
Read MoreThere has been a lot of talk about longevity lately, with the understanding of telomeres, sirtuins, and the rise in popularity of the work of David Sinclair. An interesting theory has arisen from Dr. Bruce Ames, who has been a molecular biologist and in the nutrition space for decades. He came up with the term “Triage Theory” as a way to understand how the body uses micronutrients.
Read MoreThere are several reasons to avoid this. I’m going to exclude all the social ones such as the art of conversation, being an example for the young, etiquette, etc. The main thing I want to focus on is…digestion.
Read MoreBreathing may seem simple, but you’d be surprised at how many ways we can breathe. The human body has many redundancies, and that’s a good thing for survival. This is why we have two holes in our face; our mouth and our nose. That’s two ways to exchange O2 and CO2. We have a ‘backup system’ in case one isn’t working well.
Read More“I hold my stress in my neck”. This is one of those things you hear on a daily basis as a physio. Most often, the pain is in the upper trap. There are several reasons for this, but the most common one I see is simply an imbalance. It shows up like a shrug as someone raises their arm up, especially with resistance.
Read MoreIt is well known that those with hypothyroidism have poor tolerance to cold weather. The thyroid is heavily involved in metabolism and acts as a sort of thermostat for the body. When it becomes dysfunctional, it gets worse at regulating temperature and does not handle cold weather as well. Common advice is to avoid the cold. Is it possible that cold exposure is exactly what we should be doing? If we progressively improve the body’s tolerance to cold, can we influence the thyroid?
HIIT (high intensity interval training) has been popularized in the past few decades, and for good reason. Most people use it as a tool for weight loss, and although it’s great for burning calories, it has other benefits that are less frequently talked about. This article will explore the physiology of why it improves athletic performance, and how it can improve insulin sensitivity.
Read MoreIf you don’t have any access to cardio equipment, or just find cardio machines boring, there are other techniques to improve endurance. When I say endurance, I’m talking about the tolerance to that ‘burning’ feeling your muscles get when exercising.
Read MoreThe squat is a fundamental position that everyone should be able to perform. It’s arguably one of the most functional movements. The problem is, chairs have conditioned us to only have to squat to partial depth. I spent a few months in the Philippines and it was common to see older folks sitting in a deep squat to eat their lunch. If we all did this more often, we likely have healthy ankles, knees, and hips.
Read MoreIron deficiency is extremely common and can be one of the causes of anemia. However, too much iron can be a problem as well and is known as iron overload. Iron overload is associated with metabolic disorders, gout, cardiovascular disease, hormone problems, immune imbalances, and musculoskeletal disorders.
Read MoreStiffness in joints is usually a combination of stiff surrounding muscles and tendons, a stiff capsule, and swelling. There are two types of swelling, inside the joint and outside the joint. The swelling I’m talking about is inside the joint, and is technically called effusion.
Read MoreDo you have pain in the buttock/hip area while going for a long car ride? Or maybe it’s just sitting through a meal. While there may be a few causes of this, often we find there is irritation of the external rotators of the hip. If you look around the corner, you’ll probably find the real reason why.
Read MoreA common complaint we get is pain with any pressing motions, especially with a bench press. I’ve covered this topic in the past, as outlined in this blog here. The short of that one is that missing shoulder extension can lead to an overly anterior position of the shoulder and can provoke pain. This blog will cover a different mechanism; internal versus external rotation.
Read MoreIt’s all too common to hear something like “I overdid it, I need to rest it” for musculoskeletal injuries. It is widespread advice in the medical community, and I have a problem with it. It doesn’t work; well if you want to maintain a functional life.
Read MoreThe shoulder is inherently the most unstable joint in the body, well at least for the major joints. This is because you sacrifice stability for mobility. In other words, we have to do a lot of things with our shoulders like reach overhead and behind the back, feed ourselves, dress, groom, etc. If something is very stable, it doesn’t move much. The anatomy of the shoulder is such that it lends to much greater mobility, and much less stability.
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